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In the preface to his latest book, Mohandas Namishray traces the history of the modern Indian press starting with its founder, James Augustus Hicky. While lamenting today’s page-3-type reporting, he hails the path-breaking journalism of Dr B.R. Ambedkar that awakened and educated the oppressed, he himself included

That Ambedkar and Gandhi had their differences is well known. They had sharp differences of opinion but they continued to hold dialogues. Eventually, the Constitution became an endorsement of Ambedkar’s views. But apart from Ambedkar, there have been many other Bahujan thinkers whose insights are key to upliftment of deprived sections of society

In her pioneering research on Ambedkar’s activism and politics, Eleanor Zelliot did a fine job of gleaning the various facets. However, the ‘Mahar Movement’, as she refers to Ambedkar’s movement, is a restrictive misnomer, writes Yashwant Zagade

Those who have termed the revolt of 1857 as the first war for India’s independence are the fools who wanted freedom for the Hindus alone. It didn’t bother them that had the revolt succeeded by ill luck, the princely kingdoms would have perpetuated the system that had denied the Untouchables their basic human rights. Explains Kanwal Bharti:

Bangar argued that a nexus of the ruling class, the corporates and the media continue to subjugate the Mulnivasi Bahujans and that real change must happen at the social rather than the legal level

For the first instalment of the series, ‘Untold stories of Shudra-Atishudra Awakening’, Kanwal Bharti delves into the history of India’s Hindi heartland

Jotirao Phule used to consider Hindutva to be the biggest impediment to society’s progress. In his book ‘Gulamgiri’, he presented reinterpretations of Hindu myths and established that the idea behind that caste system and untouchability was to divide the Bahujan indigenous people

In this 21st century, when equipments are available to clean dirt, isn’t it inhuman to force someone to use their hands? Here is an analysis of the questions that have been raised following a judgment on the matter

Jotirao saw that the way an educated mother could mould a child in wisdom and character, a thousand teachers or masters could not. Thus, he reasoned that as long the women – who made up half of the population –were deprived of education, India would not develop, writes Ram Surat

Who were the Asuras, the Nagas, the Dasas and the Dravidas? What were, if any, the racial and linguistic differences between these classes of people? Dr Ambedkar reflects with scholarly insight in ‘The Untouchables: Who were They and Why They Became Untouchables’